Deputies send Yushchenko’s anti-corruption laws back for revision

The Verkhovna Rada has sent three Presidential draft laws on countering corruption back for reworking in the profile committee.  This decision was taken in parliament on Wednesday, 18 October.

The Deputies did not support the proposal of the Committee on fighting organized crime and corruption to return the draft laws to the President to be worked on.

Before the vote, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada asked that the results of the vote not be viewed as an attempt at “tug of war”.

The draft laws sent back for revision were on liability for corrupt offences, the principles for preventing and countering corruption and on the liability of legal entities for corruption offences.

The Deputies did however ratify the UN Convention against Corruption, the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption,  and they passed in its first reading the Law on Ukraine’s joining the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

According to the Speaker, Oleksandr Moroz, the conventions will enter into force after the passing of the appropriate anti-corruption laws.